The Time Hunters by Carl Ashmore

Becky is a typical thirteen year old English girl. She likes Facebook, gossiping and plenty of sleep. So when she and her brother Joe are invited to stay with their ‘loony’ Uncle Percy at his stately home, she thinks it’ll be the worst summer ever. What she doesn’t realise is that Bowen Hall is also home to a baby Triceratops, two Sabre-tooth tigers and the mythic hero, Will Scarlet…

‘The Time Hunters’ is a thrilling adventure that takes Becky, Joe, Uncle Percy and Will on a quest through time to find the legendary Golden Fleece.

The Clock is ticking….

The Time Hunters is excellent first novel written by author Carl Ashmore and is a wonderful mix of time travelling, ancient mythology with a bit of murder mystery thrown in. I had only recently finished reading the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan when I first encountered this book, and after reading the blurb, I thought, “Oh no, not another story about a Percy and the Golden Fleece”. Despite this, I took it on and was pleasantly surprised by this gem.

The story begins with Becky and Joe being sent to spend the summer with their Uncle Percy. The children were never close with him and always thought he was some kind of eccentric loner living in his mansion. It wasn’t long before the children unravel the secrets hidden within Bowen Hall and learn that their uncle is actually a member of a secretive group of time travellers. Soon afterwards they find themselves on an adventure across time to investigate the mysterious murder of their uncle’s friend while being chased by a group of renegade time travellers.

I had a great time with this book even though its target are kids. I found it to be well written, fast paced and most importantly the story hooks you right from the beginning. I’ve always been a little wary of time travelling stories as they introduce all kinds of paradoxes and so far the story has handled them nicely. I especially enjoyed the re-imagination of classical characters. You think you know your Argonauts and Minotaur? Well think again.

This book has been called a natural successor to Harry Potter and indeed it has the same magical qualities that I found in those books. I look forward to reading the second book, The Time Hunters & the Box of Eternity which is due out Christmas 2011 and I wish Carl Ashmore the very best with his future books.